The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday released the results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), revealing a troubling trend: over 1.5 million of the 1.9 million candidates scored below 200 out of a possible 400 marks.

The UTME, Nigeria’s university entrance exam, assesses students in four subjects, each scored over 100. The results show a widespread decline in performance:

50.29% (983,187 candidates) scored between 160 and 199

24.97% (488,197 candidates) scored between 140 and 159

2.94% (57,419 candidates) scored between 120 and 139

High scorers were few and far between:

Only 0.24% (4,756 candidates) scored 320 and above

0.39% (7,658 candidates) scored between 300 and 319

A total of 12,414 candidates (0.63%) scored 300 and above

Meanwhile, 73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored between 250 and 299, while 334,560 (17.11%) fell within the 200–249 range—generally considered the minimum for competitive university admission.

The board also noted that 40,247 underage candidates participated in the exam, but only 467 (1.16%) demonstrated “exceptional ability.” Their full evaluation is still ongoing, as they must complete three more stages.

Operational challenges also marred the exam. JAMB reported:

97 candidates were caught in exam malpractices

2,157 others are under investigation for various infractions

71,701 registered candidates were absent, though no reasons were provided

These results have intensified scrutiny of Nigeria’s education system, with growing calls for urgent reforms to improve teaching quality, exam integrity, and student preparedness nationwide.

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has expressed its full support for Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), a Federal Government initiative focused on the deradicalisation and reintegration of former insurgents, particularly those linked to Boko Haram.

In a statement released on Friday, NOA Director-General Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu voiced the agency’s commitment during a courtesy visit by an OSC delegation to the NOA headquarters in Abuja.

Issa-Onilu urged Nigerians to reconsider their views on the programme, emphasizing its critical role in ensuring long-term peace and strengthening national security.

Brigadier General Yusuf Ali, the OSC Coordinator who led the delegation, provided an overview of the programme’s phased approach—covering screening, rehabilitation, and reintegration of former combatants. He appealed for NOA’s collaboration in reshaping public perception and communicating the initiative’s true purpose and impact.

Issa-Onilu admitted he was initially skeptical about the programme but later came to understand that many of the participants were not ideologically driven insurgents. Instead, they were often victims—abducted, coerced, or manipulated amid the protracted insurgency in the North-East.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has categorically denied allegations made in a viral Facebook livestream broadcast on May 1, 2025, by UK-based activist Sandra C. Duru, labeling the claims as “completely false and digitally manipulated.”

In a public statement, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan asserted that the voice featured in the livestream was not hers and had been fabricated to serve the political interests of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

“The voice and content shared in that broadcast are fake, manipulated, and crafted to fit a script written by Akpabio,” she stated.

The Senator further alleged a past identity for Duru, claiming, “I have uncovered that the individual now known as Sandra C. Duru previously operated under the name ‘Prof. Mgbeke’ on Facebook.”

She concluded by assuring the public that a comprehensive response would be issued soon to address what she described as baseless accusations, emphasizing that no amount of “digital deception or media drama” would derail her commitment to truth and justice.